Is Abortion Ever Justified?
Please watch the following video:
In this video, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum argues that a woman who is the victim of rape or incest and becomes pregnant as a result should not be allowed to abort the fetus. Do you agree? Why or why not? Do you believe that there are any times that abortion should be allowed? Why or why not? What are examples of situations (if any) where you believe abortion is justified?
Today, we will look at how Jewish sources answer these questions.
Abortion in the Bible
The Bible never explicitly mentions abortion, but a few biblical verses may have implications for the abortion debate. בראשית פרק ט:ו שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ:
How would you punctuate and translate this verse? (There is more than one way to do this so don’t assume that one of you is right and the other is wrong!) You can use a Hebrew/English dictionary if you need to (such as morfix.co.il.)
Rabbi Yishmael in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 57b) interprets the verse in this way: They said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: [A non-Jew is executed] even for [killing] a fetus. What is his reasoning? As it is written, “He who spills the blood of a person in a person his blood will be spilled.” What is a person that is in a person? You must say this is a fetus that is in its mother’s stomach.
How is Rabbi Yishmael punctuating the verse? Do you think his interpretation of the biblical verse is valid? שמות כא:כב-כה כב וְכִי-יִנָּצוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְנָגְפוּ אִשָּׁה הָרָה וְיָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ וְלֹא יִהְיֶה אָסוֹן עָנוֹשׁ יֵעָנֵשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר יָשִׁית עָלָיו בַּעַל הָאִשָּׁה וְנָתַן בִּפְלִלִים. כג וְאִם-אָסוֹן יִהְיֶה וְנָתַתָּה נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ. כד עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן יָד תַּחַת יָד רֶגֶל תַּחַת רָגֶל. כה כְּוִיָּה תַּחַת כְּוִיָּה פֶּצַע תַּחַת פָּצַע חַבּוּרָה תַּחַת חַבּוּרָה. Exodus 21:22-25 And if men struggle and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
What does this verse imply about the status of the fetus? Is the fetus considered a “person”? What does this verse imply about abortion – should it be permissible in certain situations?
Abortion in the Mishnah משנה מסכת אהלות פרק ז:ו האשה שהיא מקשה לילד מחתכין את הולד במעיה ומוציאין אותו אברים אברים מפני שחייה קודמין לחייו. יצא רובו אין נוגעין בו שאין דוחין נפש מפני נפש: Mishnah Tractate Oholot 7:6 If a woman was having trouble giving birth, they cut the fetus up within her womb and they take the fetus out limb by limb, because her life (chayim) precedes his life. If the majority of it out, we do not touch it. This is because we do not suspend one soul (nefesh) for another.
What does this source teach us about the status of the fetus? What does this verse imply about abortion – should it be permissible in certain situations?
Debate: Tay-Sachs
A woman in her 18th week of pregnancy finds out via amniocentesis (a procedure for testing fetal abnormalities) that her fetus has Tay-Sachs disease. Tay-Sachs causes relentless physical and mental degeneration beginning at six months old, leading the child to live in a vegetative state until death before the age of four. There is no known cure for this disease. According to the Jewish tradition, should the woman be allowed to abort the child? Why or why not? Base your answer on the Jewish sources discussed above.
Is Abortion Ever Justified?
Please watch the following video:
In this video, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum argues that a woman who is the victim of rape or incest and becomes pregnant as a result should not be allowed to abort the fetus. Do you agree? Why or why not? Do you believe that there are any times that abortion should be allowed? Why or why not? What are examples of situations (if any) where you believe abortion is justified?
Today, we will look at how Jewish sources answer these questions.
Abortion in the Bible
The Bible never explicitly mentions abortion, but a few biblical verses may have implications for the abortion debate.
בראשית פרק ט:ו
שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ:
How would you punctuate and translate this verse? (There is more than one way to do this so don’t assume that one of you is right and the other is wrong!) You can use a Hebrew/English dictionary if you need to (such as morfix.co.il.)
Rabbi Yishmael in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 57b) interprets the verse in this way:
They said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: [A non-Jew is executed] even for [killing] a fetus. What is his reasoning? As it is written, “He who spills the blood of a person in a person his blood will be spilled.” What is a person that is in a person? You must say this is a fetus that is in its mother’s stomach.
How is Rabbi Yishmael punctuating the verse? Do you think his interpretation of the biblical verse is valid?
שמות כא:כב-כה
כב וְכִי-יִנָּצוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְנָגְפוּ אִשָּׁה הָרָה וְיָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ וְלֹא יִהְיֶה אָסוֹן עָנוֹשׁ יֵעָנֵשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר יָשִׁית עָלָיו בַּעַל הָאִשָּׁה וְנָתַן בִּפְלִלִים. כג וְאִם-אָסוֹן יִהְיֶה וְנָתַתָּה נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ. כד עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן יָד תַּחַת יָד רֶגֶל תַּחַת רָגֶל. כה כְּוִיָּה תַּחַת כְּוִיָּה פֶּצַע תַּחַת פָּצַע חַבּוּרָה תַּחַת חַבּוּרָה.
Exodus 21:22-25
And if men struggle and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
What does this verse imply about the status of the fetus? Is the fetus considered a “person”? What does this verse imply about abortion – should it be permissible in certain situations?
Abortion in the Mishnah
משנה מסכת אהלות פרק ז:ו
האשה שהיא מקשה לילד מחתכין את הולד במעיה ומוציאין אותו אברים אברים מפני שחייה קודמין לחייו.
יצא רובו אין נוגעין בו שאין דוחין נפש מפני נפש:
Mishnah Tractate Oholot 7:6
If a woman was having trouble giving birth, they cut the fetus up within her womb and they take the fetus out limb by limb, because her life (chayim) precedes his life. If the majority of it out, we do not touch it. This is because we do not suspend one soul (nefesh) for another.
What does this source teach us about the status of the fetus? What does this verse imply about abortion – should it be permissible in certain situations?
Debate: Tay-Sachs
A woman in her 18th week of pregnancy finds out via amniocentesis (a procedure for testing fetal abnormalities) that her fetus has Tay-Sachs disease. Tay-Sachs causes relentless physical and mental degeneration beginning at six months old, leading the child to live in a vegetative state until death before the age of four. There is no known cure for this disease. According to the Jewish tradition, should the woman be allowed to abort the child? Why or why not? Base your answer on the Jewish sources discussed above.